HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Greencastle-Antrim overcomes adversity in 2012

GREENCASTLE — In terms of history, success tends to be measured by a team's record.

Thus, Greencastle-Antrim's 5-5 varsity football campaign in 2012 will likely be viewed as an 'average' season for a program that annually holds itself to a higher standard.

But, for those who actually experienced the journey, this past fall acted as a reminder that adversity builds character, an ideal in which the Blue Devils admirably embraced down the stretch.

Sitting at 2-5 in mid-October, G-A was forced to revise its agenda, needing to win its final three games in order to avoid the program's first losing season since 2003.

Fueled by the ever-present factor of 'Blue Devil Pride', G-A managed to conquer the uphill climb, collectively exemplifying the definition of a team to achieve one, singular goal.

"We were truly a team this year," G-A head coach Chuck Tinninis said. "After starting 2-5, we could have fallen apart. Instead, our guys stuck together and kept plugging away to finish .500. They practiced hard, they played hard, and as a coach, that's what you want to see. We made some blunders along the way, but when we came to work, we worked. I have no complaints whatsoever."

Considering the trying circumstances early on, the Blue Devils benefitted from a senior class that led by example, not allowing doubt to overshadow progress.

In return, the three-game winning streak to finish the season served as a fitting sendoff for G-A's memorable group of seniors, including the likes of Austin Scott, Hunter Szaflarski, Stephen Ernharth, Josh Young, Adam Moore, Luke Bitner, Patrick Bontrager, Alec Waddelow, Holden Baker, Kareem Aiken, Jeff Seilhamer and Ronnie Stine.

"It was neat to see them grow up a lot the past couple years," Tinninis said of his seniors. "They saw some pretty high peaks during their careers with two division titles and they also experienced a challenge to fight to finish .500. They were a tight-knit group and it's sad to see them go."

Coming off a torn ACL that brought an abrupt halt to his junior campaign, Scott shouldered a significant leadership role on and off the field, rehabbing his injury during the offseason before returning as one of the area's premiere dual-threat quarterbacks.

As G-A's signal caller, Scott accounted for 17 total touchdowns in 2012, passing for 885 yards and eight scores while adding 423 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. Defensively, Scott also acted as a shutdown corner in the Blue Devil secondary, being named to the Mid-Penn Colonial Division 2nd Team on both sides of the ball.

"Scotty took on a lot of responsibility as our leader this year," Tinninis said of his quarterback. "He's a great athlete and week in and week out he played his butt off. He kept an upbeat attitude when we were struggling in the middle of the season and got the other guys going."

Page 2 of 5 - Originally thought of as simply a change-of-pace ball carrier, Szaflarski emerged as a versatile weapon in all phases, impacting the game on offense, defense and special teams.

Pound-for-pound one of the toughest players on the field, Szaflarski, who's listed at 5-7, 155 pounds, rushed for 557 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 48 carries, finishing with an outlandish average of 11.6 yards per attempt. The speedster also reeled in 12 receptions for 266 yards and a score while returning a punt for a touchdown in G-A's 44-27 victory over Big Spring in Week 8, earning him a spot on the Colonial Division 2nd Team as a receiver and return specialist.

Szaflarski's rushing yardage was second on the team to primary bruiser Ashtin Byers, who paced the Blue Devils' ground attack with 625 yards on 96 carries, including seven trips across the goal line.

Also frequently called upon in G-A's 'ball-carrier-by-committee' approach throughout the season were the talents of Young, Moore, Aiken, Matt Montedoro and Justin Smalls, each of whom contributed to the Blue Devils' average of 269 rushing yards per game.

Through the air, Joel Zola splashed onto the varsity scene as Scott's primary target, recording a team-high 24 receptions for 311 yards and four touchdowns, granting the offense a deep-threat option downfield.

On defense, Ernharth (MPC-Colonial 2nd Team) and Moore anchored G-A's front eight from their respective middle linebacker positions with Young and Montedoro containing the edges behind an imposing rotation of linemen, including Colonial Division 1st Team selection Bobby Rider.

Joining Rider in the trenches were the physical statures of Waddelow, Bontrager, Seilhamer and Stine with Kristian Sheeley and Jared Starliper also making their presence known around the line of scrimmage in supporting roles.

Baker complemented Scott and Szaflarski at safety in the secondary, with the unit combining to hold six opponents to less than 75 yards passing on the year.

In his third year as G-A's kicker, Bitner was again a dependable asset, converting 36 of 39 extra-point attempts on his way to being named to the Colonial Division 1st Team.

All things considered, the upcoming graduation ceremony this spring is certainly going to take its toll moving forward. But, much like they seem to do every year, the Blue Devils appear poised to replenish the wealth.

"Looking at the division, I don't think any one team will be heading into next year as the favorite," Tinninis, who will be entering his 26th season at the helm, said. "We'll have a nucleus of players coming back, our JV team finished 6-3 and our ninth grade team only lost one game this year, so we're looking forward to some of those guys moving up. We should be right in the mix of it and whoever's going to win the division will need to have a good offseason of preparation. We've already started that process."

Page 3 of 5 - A look back at the 2012 G-A varsity football season:

Week 1

Chambersburg 49, G-A 7

As evident by the score, it wasn't how the Blue Devils envisioned getting underway in 2012.

Following Scott's 56-yard touchdown pass to Cody Kriner to tie the game late in the first quarter, it was all Chambersburg in the renewal of this rivalry, with the Trojans scoring 42 unanswered points en route to the lopsided victory.

Chambersburg scored four times on plays of 45 yards or more while holding G-A to what would be a season-low 190 yards of offense.

Devin Statler's 55 yards on six carries led the Blue Devils on the ground.

Week 2

G-A 28, Boiling Springs 3

Looking to quickly forget the opener, the Blue Devils evened their record against the Bubblers, with Moore (81 yards on 13 carries) and Byers (73 yards on 13 carries) handling the majority of the workload.

A pair of touchdowns by Byers accompanied a 1-yard scoring run from Moore, giving G-A a 21-3 lead at the half.

Zola's 40-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter capped the victory, accounting as the first scoring grab of the junior's varsity football career.

Defensively, G-A forced four Bubbler fumbles, recovering two of them.

Week 3

Susquehanna Twp. 43, G-A 14

A 10-yard scoring connection from Scott to Zola gave the Blue Devils the early lead on the road before Township reeled off 34 unanswered points, including four touchdown runs by tailback Colby Grant.

Scott found the end zone on a 1-yard keeper to draw within 20 heading into the fourth, where a 78-yard Indians passing touchdown essentially sealed the outcome.

Byers rushed for a career-high 118 yards on 18 carries with Scott adding 98 yards through the air to close out G-A's non-league schedule.

Week 4

G-A 50, Gettysburg 3

After somewhat of a slow start, leading just 15-3 at half, the Blue Devils erupted for 35 points in the closing two quarters, overwhelming the Warriors to open their Mid-Penn Colonial Division schedule in dominant fashion.

Scott and Szaflarski each rushed for two touchdowns, with the G-A quarterback racking up a game-high 109 yards on just seven carries.

Byers and Smalls also recorded rushing scores in the win while Chris Eadie's 23-yard return for a touchdown highlighted a three-interception performance by the Blue Devil defense.

Week 5

Northern York 21, G-A 7

Deadlocked at 7-7 in a slugfest with the Polar Bears, a failed fourth-down conversion paired with a costly turnover late in the game ultimately resulted in a disheartening defeat for the Blue Devils in a game that slipped away at Dillsburg.

Page 4 of 5 - Scott's 22-yard touchdown strike to Zola tied the contest right before the half, with neither side managing to find the end zone in the third, setting up the decisive final quarter of play.

After Northern took the lead at 14-7 with 8:21 remaining, G-A was stopped short on fourth-and-two from its own 45 prior to the Blue Devil defense forcing a three-and-out following the change of possession, thus seemingly returning the ball to Scott and the offense with plenty of time to mount a game-tying drive.

A muffed punt ensued, which was recovered by the Polar Bears at G-A's 12 to set up a Northern touchdown two plays later, culminating into the 14-point loss.

Week 6

West Perry 35, G-A 28

Despite a resilient rally, the Blue Devils inability to slow down the Mustangs' option offense created a 35-14 deficit early in the fourth, rendering a pair of G-A touchdowns in the final eight minutes too little, too late.

West Perry quarterback Zach Smith, who was named Offensive MVP of the Colonial Division, rushed 29 times for 171 yards while passing for three scores, keeping the Blue Devils guessing throughout.

Three fumbles, two of which were lost, also stalled promising G-A drives in the first half, allowing the Mustangs to extend their advantage.

Byers accounted for both Blue Devil touchdowns in the fourth quarter (one rushing, one receiving) while Scott and Szaflarski each made a trip across the goal line in the loss.

Week 7

Shippensburg 36, G-A 17

Rekindling memories of two epic showdowns in 2011, the Blue Devils went toe-to-toe with eventual Colonial Division champion Shippensburg in the early goings before the Greyhounds' rushing attack ultimately proved to be the difference, gashing G-A for 416 yards on the ground.

Scott's 68-yard bomb to Szaflarski tied the game on the Blue Devils' first offensive play from scrimmage with a 24-yard field goal by Bitner granting G-A an 11-8 advantage.

Three touchdown runs for Shippensburg's William Burt ensued prior to a 7-yard keeper by Scott cutting the lead to 29-17 at the half.

The tempo slowed over the final two quarters, as Ty Kater's 69-yard scoring run accounted for the only points of the second half, extending the Blue Devils' losing streak to three games.

Scott ended with 163 passing yards, connecting with Szaflarski six times for 144.

The Greyhounds went on to finish unbeaten in Colonial play at 7-0, dethroning G-A as back-to-back division champions.

Week 8

G-A 44, Big Spring 27

With the revised goal of finishing .500 as the focus, the Blue Devils began their late-season surge by returning to form on the ground, as G-A's backfield committee combined for 571 rushing yards en route to a season-high output of 606 yards of total offense.

Page 5 of 5 - Szaflarski found the end zone four times, scoring on runs of 43, 28 and 10 yards while also returning a punt for a touchdown in the third quarter.

Surprisingly, Szaflarski's rushing total of 97 yards placed him third on the team, as Byers and Scott both cracked the century mark in the collectively impressive outing. Byers' 151 yards broke his previous career-high set earlier in the year at Township while Scott notched 131 yards and two scores.

The Blue Devils carried the newly found momentum into their annual backyard rivalry with Waynesboro, seizing control from the opening whistle, never looking back after establishing a 35-7 lead by halftime.

A 63-yard touchdown pass from Scott to Young got the G-A offense rolling less than three minutes in before two additional scoring runs by both Scott and Byers essentially put the game out of reach heading into the locker room.

Montedoro then barreled in from 2 yards out to extend the margin in the fourth with a 35-yard hookup from Scott to Zola capping the scoring with 2:35 remaining.

Through the air, Scott completed 8-of-11 passes for a season-high 185 yards while Montedoro finished with a career-high 81 yards on 15 carries.

Week 10

G-A 62, James Buchanan 7

Despite the game being postponed from Friday to Monday as a result of Hurricane Sandy, the change in routine had little effect on the Blue Devils, with G-A hanging a season-high 62 points on the Rockets to achieve a final record of 5-5.

The finale was arguably the Blue Devils' most well-rounded performance of 2012, dominating in all phases of the game to close out their Colonial schedule at 4-3, finishing fourth in the division behind Shippensburg, West Perry and Northern.

Szaflarski capped his senior campaign with his second four-touchdown outing of the season, scoring on runs of 38, 34, 34 and 18 yards, needing just five carries to record his game-high total of 124.

Byers, Young, Montedoro, Aiken and Matt Oberholzer also found the end zone for the Blue Devils, with Young racking up 98 yards in the final appearance of his career.

G-A was just as impressive on the defensive side of the ball, holding JB to only four first downs and 66 yards of total offense.